Two years on, TERI yet to submit city's carbon footprint report to PMC

The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI) has not yet submitted its carbon footprint (CF) report for the city to the Pune Municipal Corporation (PMC). This means the civic body may not be able to attach this report, which has been under preparation for about two year, in its 2011-12 Environment Status Report (ESR) as well.

Heating up the world: Vehicular pollution contributes to the emission of greenhouse gases. File Pic

The latest ESR is in the final stages of preparation and will be presented in the General Body meeting next month. TERI was asked to prepare the CF report in 2010. In its draft CF report, TERI had stated that the city’s annual per capita carbon footprint is 2.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide. The CF is assessed on the basis of overall energy consumption in the city.

“TERI had mentioned 2.2 tonnes of carbon dioxide per capita annually in the city, which means the city generates this level of carbon dioxide per individual by consuming electricity and fossil fuels like coal and kerosene,” Mangesh Dighe, head, Environmental Cell, PMC, said. “We don’t have any information on CF level in other cities in India, so we can’t compare with others.”

He said it would be good if the CF report would be available in time for it to be attached to the ESR. “We are expecting the final report about CF level from TERI, as the 2011-12 ESR is almost ready,” Dighe said. “It will be a value addition in the report, and can be available for public use.”

Former municipal commissioner Mahesh Zagade had announced the preparation of the CF report in 2010. The civic body even issued a notice in 2011 to TERI to submit its CF report in two months, but the institute at the time stated that the report was delayed because of insufficient data.

Additional Municipal Commissioner and Garden Superintendent Naresh Zurmure had wanted to attach the CF report in the ESR presented in the General Body meeting last year so that it could be shared with the public.

Zurmure said the civic body had paid Rs 18 lakh for the preparation of the ESR for the year 2009-10, and was willing to pay the remaining Rs 12 lakh after getting the final CF report. Sandeep Joshi, scientist, Srushti Laboratory, said: “Many cities in the world have already set a trend by publishing their ESR with the carbon footprint report. These cities also mention the efforts made to bring down the CF levels in their respective urban region.”

The other side Dr Anjali Parasnis, associate director, Western Regional Centre, TERI, said: "We’ll let you know when the report is ready. We have made the draft report for PMC. We will be able to submit the final report soon. There is no connection of CF with ESR."